Town House - Chilhowie, VA

One of the perks of being from Southwestern Virginia is that when visiting family one is able to dine at one of America's very best restaurants. Sweetmonger had to go back to Austin a few days early so she and I snuck away from the family to dine at Town House on Saturday night. As expected, it was an interesting, excellent meal.

The opening amuses were the best I've had at Town House. First was an Asian spiced walnut which left the taste of Chinese food in the mouth (trust me, a very good thing). Next was the Town House black olive cookie with Parmesan cheese. These cookies are just amazingly good; they should be packaged and sold. The last was a crab chip. We had had a version of this a few months ago but this one was topped with an incredibly succulent morsel of crab.

Before the main courses began we got a palate cleanser of spiced Asian pear tea. Amazingly refreshing. I could have drunk a gallon of it.

I was a little hesitant about the first course after reading the menu: King crab on top of a Kaffir lime gelee and grapefruit with tamarind and a coconut foam side topped with a crispy muscavado sugar shell. I had a version of this dish a few months ago and did not particularly like it. It was too hard to eat and the grapefruit was too prevalent. However, after eating it last night, I have done a complete 180. It was just about perfect. The crab was really flavorful, the coconut foam and the Kaffir lime gelee were wonderful and in perfect balance and the sugar shell's texture brought everything together. This dish should never leave the menu.

The second course was even better if that is possible. Black truffle puree, bacon ice cream, celery, celery foam. It was just a wonderfully executed display of bold flavors, textures and aromas. Insanely good.

The third course was chorizo bouillon with three different types of gnocchi: manchego cheese, egg yolk and cuttlefish. It had a wonderful presentation and was pretty tasty but was probably my least favorite dish of the meal.

Sous vide squab with coriander, Thai basil, foie gras golden egg jam and a root beer consume was the fourth course. This was an exquisite dish, both in taste and presentation (the picture does not do it justice). The squab was very moist and super tender and was certainly the focal point of the dish. The foie gras jam (which tasted like sweet butter), coriander, basil and root beer consume created a wonderful, subtle compliment. A restrained yet excellent dish.

The fifth course (what is usually the final savory course on the menu) was one bold, decadent and absolutely amazing plate of food. Lamb loin wrapped in saddle fat and sous vide in nicoise olive oil for 36 hours and served with carrot taffy (exactly what it sounds like), pistachio croutons, mustard seeds and an herb and red wine foam.

Sweetmonger and I requested the barbecued pork shoulder with a pickled prune, bread ashes and shallots cooked in black butter. This is such a cool dish. The pork is sous vide, cooked on top of coals and then painted with squid ink. The result is a piece of tender, moist meat that looks exactly like burnt tree bark. It tastes like really good BBQ. The prune and the shallots were also quite tasty; however, the focus of this course is definitely the presentation. Such a fun course to eat.

Our first dessert was a Gorgonzola custard. I really cannot remember what was in here. It was very complicated. Some type of Gorgonzola pudding and maybe some cranberry ice cream. It tasted great though.

Next came what Town House calls Crab Apple. This is a stunning dessert. The flavors are familiar (apple pie, vanilla ice cream and funnel cake) but they are so much more intense than anything I have ever had. Wow!

Our final course was the night's most intricate and was absolutely delicious. It had curry ice cream, Hubbard squash, white chocolate and granola. It was a spot-on perfect ending to another great meal at Town House.

I also went back to Town House for New Years Eve. The menu was similar but there were a few new dishes. The night's opening course was Marinated oysters, osetra caviar, sorrel and jalapeno. This was a light, well-balanced first-course. Everything was there to heighten the senses and the use of the jalapeno was perfect. It was subtle and added no heat.

The main entree was Wagyu beef with bulgar wheat, snail caviar and the flavors of parsley. The beef was perfectly cooked: insanely tender and oozing with flavor. Everything else created an earthy flavor and texture. I really enjoyed this course.

I also had two new desserts. The first was Textures of Milk with honey and nutmeg. I truthfully don't really know what was in this dish. But suffice it to say it is a tough course (dessert or otherwise) to top. It was excellent.

The other new dessert was Pumpernickel, chocolate, seckel pear and sangria. It was the richest dessert I've had at Town House and it worked well because it was the third dessert in the progression. It was very chocolaty and utilized multiple textures. All around, it was a great way to end 2008.

In the two meals, I had a glass of wine with almost everywhere course. Charlie, Town House's wine guy, does a great job pairing beverages. The wines he chooses are always very good and appropriate, and he even throws in a few unexpected beer pairings (which I of course love).

Furthermore, at what other modern, progressive restaurant can one dine on some of the country's best cuisine while listening to background music including Robert Earl Keen? Town House is just an amazing restaurant. Every part of the meal from the amuses to the desserts are superb. There is not a let down anywhere. Thus, there is little doubt that it remains The Monger's favorite American restaurant.

Town House

www.townhouseva.com

townhouseblog.blogspot.com

132 E. Main St.

Chilhowie, VA 24319